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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — a group
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. fork — in a road
  15. clip — a video
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kick — in football
  18. club — for golf
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. ball — a great time
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com